Cuban-born Major League Baseball player José Abreu of the Chicago White Sox tells jury he ate part of his fake Haitian passport on flight to US. Abreu testified in trial of an alleged Cuban ballplayer smuggling ring trial

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu returned to the witness stand Thursday to testify in the case against two Florida men accused of operating a ring that smuggled Cuban ballplayers to the United States.

Sports agent Bartolo Hernandez and baseball trainer Julio Estrada allegedly orchestrated Abreu and many other Cuban players’ trip to third countries, where they signed lucrative Major League Baseball contracts.

According to MLB rules, Cuban players can become free agents only if they first establish residency in a third country before entering the U.S.

Several other Cuban players have testified, including Miami Marlins’ Adeiny Hechavarria and Leonys Martin, of the Seattle Mariners.

Federal prosecutors say that in some cases Hernandez and Estrada’s organization resorted to kidnapping and extortion, holding the players captive until they signed contracts with them and ultimately with the MLB.

Abreu, who hit 25 home runs and drove in 100 runs last season, was given time off from White Sox spring training in Arizona to testify in the Miami case.

As part of the thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations, MLB is in talks with both nations' governments on a potential deal that could make it easier for Cuban ballplayers to play in the U.S. without having to sneak away at international tournaments or risk high-seas defections with smugglers.